"I guess the world really did end," Carl whispered while looking at the hundreds of abandoned cars on the highway, some with the occasional walker inside.
It was eerie being surrounded by so many cars, scattered toys and clothes but not a living person in sight.
Just the sound of the truck tires crunching over random debris on the highway.
"Yeah, it's worse than I thought as well," Paul said while glancing at a walker stuck in the driver's side of a car, its face eaten off.
"You think my mom will be okay?" Carl asked. He didn't know why he was asking; maybe he just hoped for a good answer.
"She's alive. She probably thinks you are too. That's just the way moms are, they never give up on their kids."
Carl smiled
"That does sound like her."
Carl put his hand on his chin and watched as everything went by. This was a different world know and he was willing to do whatever it took to protect the people he cared about.
"We are here. It doesn't look good." Paul said his voice was dark.
Carl glanced out the windshield and saw what looked like what used to be a camp, but now it was all torn up with a pile of burned bodies in the center of it all, making for a grim appearance.
"No!" Carl slammed his fist into the door before putting both hands on his head.
"Calm down. Let's check it out." Paul got out of the truck, and Carl followed a nauseous feeling in his stomach as he looked at the stained piles of blood scattered around the campsite.
"It isn't looking good." Carl shook his head, feeling that maybe his mom wasn't alive after all.
Paul stepped closer to the burned pile of corpses and narrowed his eyes.
"Walker bodies, not humans. The camp must have got overrun. At least we know there were some survivors." Paul looked around and spotted something hanging off a red Mustang.
"Over there, what's that?" Paul pointed
Carl walked over to the Mustang and saw two white pieces of paper with writing on them.
"Morgan, going to CDC, this area not safe." Carl read, but what he saw last is what made him drop the paper.
"What?" Paul ran over and picked the paper up.
"Rick? That's your dad, right? I thought you said he was dead?" Paul looked at Carl, confused.
Carl shook his head, his whole mind was going crazy.
"He was, or that's what I was told. I don't know anymore. Maybe it's a different Rick." Carl continued to mumble on while thinking of the possibility of it actually being his dad.
"I don't think so. Look at this." Paul handed Carl the other paper that had been hanging on the mustang.
"Carl, going to CDC. Fort Benning, if not there. Mom." Carl read and felt tears going down his cheeks while he smiled.
"They are both alive. It has to be them." Carl felt the hope inside of him reignite. He would get to his parents, and nothing would get in his way.
"Alright, no crying on me. I just can't believe your dead dad is back from the dead and not a walker." Paul shook his head, feeling like this should be the plot of a movie or something.
"I still don't want to get my hopes up until I'm sure it's him." Carl shook his head.
"Alright, then let's go find out. The writing on this paper only looks three or four days old, so they shouldn't have gone too far if they're at the CDC." Paul patted Carl on the shoulder, and they both hopped back in the truck before giving the camp one more look and driving off toward the CDC.
Later that night, Paul and Carl made it to the CDC to see it up in flames, completely surrounded by walkers.
Both their faces paled at the sight.
"Even the CDC has been taken down. Now that's something I'd thought I'd never see." Paul watched as the towering flames licked the sky and the sea of walkers sent themselves into them without hesitation.
Carl, on the other hand, was just hoping that his parents managed to make it out of whatever the hell happened here.
"How does it keep getting worse?" Carl asked while wanting to yank his hair out.
"Looks like our peaceful lives at the cabin went down the fucking drain the moment we decided to leave huh?" Paul joked, though it was more of a fact.
"Fort Benning it is then," Carl said, hoping that his parents were still out there somewhere.
"Well, drive through the night. Try and make some ground on them. This fire looks fresh, so maybe they are closer than we thought." Paul said before chugging down a Red Bull.
He was going to need it.